New offensive coordinator Knapp already under microscope

As much as some Raiders fans paid respect to Al Davis and yet celebrated a new regime, they were torn over the departure of head coach Hue Jackson.

Jackson took over the Raiders' offense in 2010 and immediately upgraded it into the kind of explosive unit Davis desired.

He became head coach in 2011 when Davis decided not to renew the contract of head coach Tom Cable, which came as no surprise to insiders who thought Jackson was the coach-in-waiting all along.

Even as Jackson alienated some of Raider Nation with what seemed to be a power grab after Davis' demise, there were plenty who thought it made perfect sense to keep the same head coach and change the direction of the defense.

Patience being what it is, patience with new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp is running thin following a season-opening 22-14 home loss to the San Diego Chargers.

Jackson's offense threw down the field. Even while arriving late, quarterback Carson Palmer averaged a career-high 8.4 yards per attempt in 2011 and was throwing short of the stake at 5.6 in the season opener.

Running back Darren McFadden, who flourished when Jackson became offensive coordinator and then ascended to head coach in his third and fourth seasons, gained 32 yards on 15 carries in his first game being reunited with Knapp in charge of the offense.

Knapp was originally hired as offensive coordinator under Lane Kiffin in 2007, and removed from his play-calling duties under Tom Cable in 2008 after Kiffin was fired.

So have the Raiders gone from the traditional deep-throwing Davis team that Jackson embraced to a dink-and-dunk West Coast offense?

Palmer spent the opener winging the ball underneath the San Diego secondary, completing 32 of 46 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions A few of his deeper throws misfired.

"They were staying in base defense and we liked our matchups with our running backs underneath and we've beaten them over the top in the past,'' Palmer said. "They were getting a ton of depth and were not going to give up big plays. Their corners pressed the line of scrimmage a lot and were just turning and running for the hills.''

Coach Dennis Allen, the man who hired Knapp to take over the offense, was fine with how the team operated.

Allen felt the Raiders could have been better both offensively and defensively, but that special teams errors -- in particular three bad snaps that led to nine points after Pro-Bowl long snapper Jon Condo left with a concussions -- meant the difference in the game.

Allen was still reeling from preparing for every conceivable option in his first game as a head coach only to have it all come unraveled because Condo departed with 11:16 left in the first half.

Punter Shane Lechler took big fourth-down losses in Raiders territory on snaps by linebacker Travis Goethel, with another punt blocked with Lechler unsure what Goethel was seeing in terms of blocking assignments.

"I didn't lay asleep at night dreaming about that, that's for sure," Allen said. "But that's the National Football League. Injuries happen. You've got to be prepared for just about anything."

Allen was firm in reaffirming his beliefs about team-building. Yes, the special teams were a disaster. Yes, the Raiders didn't run the ball as well as he'd hoped.

But there was a dramatic improvement on defense and a competitive nature Allen liked. The Raiders lost the ball on their first possession following a 56-yard, 14-play drive when rookie wide receiver Rod Streater lost a fumble on a pass from Palmer.

The Raiders gave up 1.6 yards per carry on defense. There were the special teams disasters.

Yet somehow, the Raiders were within 22-14 just inside of a minute of regulation.

"I thought we started the game off strong offensively, and defensively," Allen said. "And then I thought the third quarter was the turning point with the poor snap and the blocked punt. It really kind of turned the game around and gave them all the momentum."